Indus Valley Times

By Payal Banarjee

 ~ Organised by Tata Steel in association with Pathani Samanta Planetarium~

~ More than 80,000 students from 30 districts participated in the 17th edition of YATS ~

 Bhubaneswar, Dec. 14 : Top 5 winners of the 17th Edition of Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) 2023 were felicitated by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik on December 13 at Pathani Samanta Planetarium( PSP) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Organized by Tata Steel in association with PSP operating under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Odisha, this edition of YATS saw the participation of more than 80,000 students from 30 districts in the State.

 Present at the award ceremony were Shri Ashok Chandra Panda, Hon’ble Minister, Science & Technology, Public Enterprises, Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disability, Government of Odisha, Smt. Chithra Arumugam, IAS, Principal Secretary, Science and Technology, Dr. Yeddula Vijay, IAS, Joint Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Government of Odisha and Shri Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel.

 Addressing the gathering, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik said, “I congratulate all the students who participated in the activities organised as part of Young Astronomer Talent Search. My congratulations to the district toppers who are selected for the finals and the Top 20 winners. I am glad that over 80 thousand students from across 30 districts of our State are participating in this competition. My congratulations to Tata Steel and Pathani Samanta Planetarium for conducting this unique event successfully year after year, and I wish the programme the very best for its future editions.”

 Shri Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel, said, “The growing number of participants in each edition of YATS is a resounding testimony to its value and success, particularly among Odisha’s youth.  The 2023 edition of YATS also comes on the heels of India’s most successful space mission yet — Chandrayaan-3 which added a lot more excitement among our young scientists.  It is also very encouraging to see so many young minds turning their attention to astronomy and unchartered areas of space missions and technologies that will prove invaluable to India’s future. I am extremely happy to congratulate the winners of YATS 2023 and every single participant who made it such a grand success.”

 The competition included an open quiz for students of classes 6 to 8, conducted physically in schools and a multiple-choice questions assessment for students of classes 9 and 10, conducted in schools and online. A total of 20 winners including the top 5, along with their teachers, will be taken on an exposure visit to one of the facilities of the Indian Space Research Organisation around June 2024, where they will have the opportunity to interact with ace space scientists of the country.”

 Since its inception 17 years ago till date, more than 3,50,000 young science enthusiasts in Odisha have actively participated in YATS, which highlights the program’s enduring impact. Notably, 180 students have had the privilege of visiting various facilities of ISRO in India.